


What Does He Want

by Firequill



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firequill/pseuds/Firequill
Summary: It's Scott and Stiles' first Christmas as a couple, and Stiles can't figure out what the perfect present for his boyfriend is. He's pretty sure that the list of top wolf gift ideas isn't going to help though.
Relationships: Scott McCall/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	What Does He Want

Stiles stared at his computer screen and wondered if it was time to break up with his boyfriend. Not that he didn’t love Scott. He would happily do anything for him, and love was honestly a small word for all the emotions he felt when Scott was around. It was just that trying to choose a Christmas present for the first year they were actually dating was something he was fairly certain counted as cruel and unusual punishment. He couldn’t think of a single thing that came close to being as thoughtful as he wanted it to be.  


Searching “werewolf gifts” had been astonishingly unhelpful. While he had made a mental note of some of the funnier T-shirts out there for when he needed something ridiculous to make Scott roll his eyes at him, nothing had been quite right for a time when he was actually trying to be serious. He had been on his computer for over an hour with absolutely no bursts of inspiration, no matter how hard he tried to will the universe to give him one.  


A tapping on the frame of his bedroom door indicated the arrival of his dad. Stiles leaned back to give him an upside-down look of woe that, considering the way his dad raised his eyebrows back, elicited exactly no sympathy.  


“I’m heading to work. You’re good here?” Stiles sighed, righting himself and turning his chair around.  


“Good is not the word I’d use, but yeah. I’m meeting up with everybody else to go to the tree lighting.” His dad walked over and peered at his laptop screen.  


“’27 Wolf Gifts For People Who Like Wolves’? Stiles, do I want to know?” Stiles groaned and put his head in his hands.  


“I don’t even know, there is absolutely no way that I can explain it to you. I am the worst boyfriend, I am so screwed, Scott is totally going to break up with me.” His dad sighed.  


“Well if you give him a custom wolf lighter, I’m not sure I disagree with you. Why is this what you’re looking at for gifts for Scott? You know him better then this.” Stiles put his head back up and held up a finger.  


“Yeah, but now we’re dating. That means I’m supposed to give him something good, and I have no ideas.” He tried for his best pleading eyes. “What did you get as gifts for people when you were dating them?” His dad shook his head, his mouth twitching in a way that indicated that he was trying not to laugh.  


“Stiles. Just because you two are dating now doesn’t mean that you have to do anything different than you’ve done before. Scott likes you, he’s not going to break up with you over a gift. Though again, if this is what you’re looking at, I could be wrong.” He waved his hand at the laptop screen. “Have fun at the tree lighting. I’ll see you when I get home.” He left. Stiles considered bashing his head against his keyboard. His phone buzzing saved him from having to decide if it would hurt too much too be worth it. He glanced at the screen to see a text from Scott that he was on his way. With a sigh, Stiles closed his laptop and hauled himself out of his chair to go get his coat.

Scott grinned as Stiles came out of the house, waiting until he’d locked the door behind him to lean in and give him a quick kiss.  


“Hi,” he said, grinning. Stiles couldn’t help but smile back.  


“Hi. You’re in a good mood.”  


“What, I’m not allowed to be happy to see you? Besides, this is going to be fun!” Stiles rolled his eyes slightly, but he couldn’t crush Scott’s spirits when he was this excited.  


“I assume everyone else is meeting us there?” Scott nodded.  


“I heard from Lydia that she and Malia are already there staking out some spots. Kira was on her way to join them. Liam said he and Mason might be late.” Stiles raised his eyebrows and Scott shook his head. “I did not ask.”  


“Smart move.” Stiles reached out and slid his hand into Scott’s as they started walking. “So what were you up to today?” Scott shrugged.  


“Nothing much. I helped mom get the cards ready to send out to all the cousins, which took a little while. Otherwise just hung out. What about you?” Stiles winced slightly and hoped that Scott didn’t notice.  


“Oh, you know. The usual,” he lied. “So where exactly are Lydia and Malia?” Scott gave him a look that had a hint of suspicion in it, but he didn’t call Stiles out on the lie. Instead he reached into his coat pocket to check his phone.  


“Lydia says they’re by the coffee shop just off Main Street.” He glanced at Stiles again. “Which probably means we can grab something there before it starts if you want.”  


“Have I mentioned I love you? Because I love you. Yes, I want coffee before it starts,” Stiles said. Scott laughed and squeezed his hand. Stiles’ mind flashed back to the list of wolf gifts on his computer and he mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. His dad was right, those were clearly all wrong. He was going to have to think of something else.

They found Lydia and Malia with surprisingly little difficulty considering the number of people milling about. Kira had joined them already and waved as Scott and Stiles approached. All three of them had coffee cups in their hands already, and Scott gave Stiles a little kiss on the cheek before sliding his hand away and heading towards the coffee shop. Stiles, knowing that Scott knew what he liked, went over to the girls. Lydia shook her head at him.  


“Why does he spoil you?” She asked. Stiles shrugged.  


“Because he’s the best, probably. And because some so-called friends didn’t already buy us coffee before we got here.” Malia looked distinctly unimpressed. Lydia just smiled.  


“If you really want me to pick out your coffee I can do that, but I don’t think you’ll like it.” Stiles considered this. He had no doubt that if there was an absolutely lethal combination of add-ons to put in coffee, Lydia would not only know what it was but would not hesitate to try and get him to drink it.  


“Point taken.” He stretched his arms over his head, watching as a family all in matching candy cane stripe sweaters walked by. “So what’s going on with Liam, do I want to know?” Malia rolled her eyes.  


“He’s being an idiot.” Stiles just looked at her.  


“And that is different from a usual day because…?” Kira sighed.  


“He was supposed to help Mason get a tree for his house, but the place they went to was closed, so they drove to one outside of town and now there’s no way they’re going to get back in time,” she supplied.  


“Being an idiot,” Malia repeated. “I don’t see why they couldn’t just wait until tomorrow.” Lydia made a humming noise, taking a sip from her coffee and looking over at the tree. The sun was just starting to set, bright orange hues splashing across the clouds in the sky. Stiles was looking up, appreciating the view, when a warm cup was leaned against his cheek. He turned to smile at Scott.  


“You’re the best.” Scott laughed and handed the coffee cup to Stiles, who got lost for a moment looking into Scott’s eyes and reflecting all over again how incredible it was that his best friend actually loved him back.  


“Can you two stop being gross for five minutes?” Malia asked, ruining the moment. Stiles leaned around Scott to glare at her.  


“I don’t remember asking for commentary from the peanut gallery.” Lydia snorted lightly.  


“Since when do you have to ask?” Scott shrugged.  


“She’s got a point.” Stiles opened his mouth, about to retort, when there was a burst of music from behind him. He turned to see a band set up on a low stage close to the giant pine tree. They were playing “Jingle Bells” at a volume that was probably intended to be heard on the moon. Scott slid his hand back into Stiles’ free one, and as the band finished their song and moved onto the next one Stiles found himself leaning back into Scott’s warmth.  


After a few songs, the band stopped and someone got up to make a speech. Stiles thought it might have been the mayor, but honestly he wasn’t sure. He also didn’t listen to the speech at all, preferring to look up at the sky where a few stars were starting to peek out between the clouds in the dark blue of the sky as dusk fell. After what seemed like an eternity, the speech stopped and someone stepped forward to the big switch by the tree. The band struck up again, this time playing “Winter Wonderland” as the switch was thrown and the lights on the tree sprang into glowing life as people applauded. Scott leaned his head against Stiles’ with a happy sigh.  


“I’m glad we did this,” he whispered into Stiles’ ear. Stiles squeezed his hand.  


“You know I’d only do something like this for you, right?” Scott laughed, a warm vibration that Stiles could feel in his body.  


“Well, then I guess I’m pretty lucky.”

A few days later, Stiles had to admit that browsing the internet wasn’t getting him anywhere. No matter how many websites he browsed or how many lists of recommended gifts he looked at, nothing seemed right. At this point, he was at war with Christmas gifts, and it was clear that he needed a different battleground. He pulled out his phone and dialed. The phone rang three times before Lydia finally answered.  


“You had better not be calling this late because there’s some kind of emergency, I am already settled in for the night and I refuse to come find a dead body.” Stiles blinked, pausing in the act of pouring himself a late-night bowl of cereal.  


“Do you think I only call you when there’s a dead body somewhere or something?” Lydia sighed.  


“You have to admit, it’s happened more often than is strictly normal.” Stiles considered this.  


“Lydia, when was the last time a single thing in our lives was normal?” He shook his head, putting the cereal box back down on the counter. “Anyway, that isn’t the point. I’m not calling about a dead body, I need your help.”  


“Help with what?” Stiles closed his eyes, gripping the edge of the counter and hoping that she wasn’t going to laugh at him. It was probably a futile hope, but he could at least dream.  


“I need your help picking out a gift for Scott,” he blurted out before he could talk himself out of it. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Stiles couldn’t decide if this was better or worse than laughing. When Lydia spoke again, she said each word slowly as if she wasn’t sure she was understanding him.  


“You. Need help with a gift. For Scott. For your own boyfriend. And that’s why you called me this late.” Stiles grit his teeth.  


“Lydia, please, I already know how stupid I sound, all right? Yes, that is what I’m asking.” Lydia was quiet for another long moment, but when she spoke again Stiles couldn’t quite place the emotion in her voice. It definitely wasn’t amusement, but she didn’t exactly sound upset either.  


“Stiles, you know Scott better than anyone else. Why would you need my help?” He sighed, putting the cereal box back in the cupboard and going to get the milk out of the fridge to try and keep his hands busy.  


“Look, I may have known Scott for a long time but this is the first time I’ve been dating him. I want to make sure I get it right.” He found the milk and put it on the counter. Lydia made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a suppressed giggle.  


“Even if he’s your boyfriend, he’s not going to suddenly change that much. You know Scott, he’s going to like anything you get him. He’s mostly going to be flattered that you thought of him.” Stiles made a frustrated gesture with his free hand.  


“Yeah, but that’s the thing. I don’t want him to like it because he’s like that, I want it to be something he’ll actually like, and clearly wolf lamps aren’t the answer and I am fully out of ideas.”  


“Wolf lamps,” Lydia said flatly. “Stiles, please tell me that you didn’t-”  


“No, I did not spend over 100 dollars on a wolf lamp, I have some sense,” Stiles interrupted. Lydia was quiet again, then sighed.  


“All right. Against my better judgement, I will pick you up tomorrow at 9:00, and we will go to the mall. You are buying me the largest coffee.” Stiles considered pointing out her comments about not buying him coffee at the tree lighting and then remembered that antagonizing her might result in the removal of the offer to help.  


“Thank you Lydia, you’re the best.”  


“Don’t let Scott hear you say that. See you tomorrow Stiles.” She hung up, leaving Stiles, his cereal, and his nerves alone in the kitchen.

Lydia in the mall the week before Christmas turned out to be brutally efficient. She herded Stiles into stores and through them with all the efficiency of a drill sergeant. When crowds were in their way Lydia marched forward, heels clacking on the floor, in the apparent certainty that they would part in front of her. To Stiles’ amazement, they did. He learned pretty quickly to stay close behind her so that he could get through before the crowds closed behind her again.  


An hour in, he had found some nice cologne for his dad but was still no closer to finding anything that seemed even close to being a good gift for Scott. Lydia watched him with folded arms and narrowed eyes as he rifled through a rack of sweaters.  


“Stiles, you have no idea what you want, do you?” He glared at her over the sweaters.  


“That was the whole reason I called you, wasn’t it?” She sighed, unfolding her arms.  


“Come on. You’re not going to find anything here, those sweaters are awful anyway. Let’s sit down for a minute.” She led him out of the store and into the bookstore, making her way over to the small coffee shop that was inside the store. They settled at a table, each with a cup in front of them. Lydia looked at him expectantly. Stiles squirmed in discomfort.  


“I don’t know what you think I’m going to say,” he said at last. Lydia huffed out a light laugh.  


“If being your friend has taught me anything, it’s that I should never try and predict what you’re going to say. It’s one of the few things I tend to be wrong about.” She smiled at him, and he was surprised to see that it was a genuine smile. “Stiles, seriously. What’s the hang up with this whole present thing?” He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He knew that he wasn’t being logical about this whole thing, and Lydia being so open to listening to him just made him feel even more ridiculous about the whole thing.  


“I don’t know,” he said at last, feeling small. “I just don’t want to get things wrong, you know?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten you involved in this.” Lydia shrugged.  


“I got some shopping done too you know. Besides, there’s something amusing about watching you flounder about like this.” She took a sip of her coffee and put her cup down lightly on the table. 

“Look, you’ve known Scott longer than the rest of us. If anyone knows what he’s going to like it’s you.” Stiles bit his lip, wondering how to put his thoughts into words in a way that wasn’t going to sound as pathetic as he felt about it.  


“It’s just, I feel like if I get it wrong he’s going to be disappointed,” he said. “He gets so excited about things like the tree lighting, and spending time together, and I don’t want to spoil it for him. And I’m worried…” he trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. Unfortunately, Lydia was able to finish it for him.  


“You’re worried that if it’s not right, he’s not going to want to date you anymore?” Stiles winced. “You’re aware of how ridiculous that is, right?”  


“I know,” Stiles mumbled into his coffee. There was a long moment of silence before Lydia sighed again.  


“Listen, I don’t have the answers for you. Even if I did I don’t think they’d do you much good, this doesn’t seem like the kind of anxiety that responds well to logic.” She leaned forward slightly, and he looked up to meet her eyes guiltily. “What I can say is, Scott is not going to leave you because of one gift. He likes you, Stiles. That’s why he gets so excited about things like the tree lighting. It’s not because he’s excited about a tree, it’s because he gets to spend the time with you, and with the rest of his friends.” She smiled again. “So, even if it’s not perfect, he’s going to love it because it’s you.” Stiles took a deep breath, trying to make himself believe that she was right.  


“Okay,” he said. “Okay. I probably just need to pick something at this point, huh?” Lydia raised her eyebrows.  


“If that something is the wolf lamp, then I take back everything I just said because he’s fully going to dump you.” Stiles made a face at her, downing what must have been half his coffee in a single gulp and slamming the empty cup back down onto the table.  


“All right. Let’s do this.” Lydia cupped her coffee in both hands.  


“I refuse to chug this. Go look around the bookstore for a bit and I’ll catch up with you when I’m done. There’s still a lot of stores left.” As Stiles walked off to poke his way through shelves of books, he wondered if she’d meant that to sound as threatening as it had.

Since they both had family plans on Christmas Eve, Scott and Stiles had planned their gift exchange date for the 23rd. Stiles came over to Scott’s house, nervously holding the wrapped present in his hands. Scott threw open the door almost as soon as he knocked on it, a wide smile on his face. He was wearing a loose gray sweater that was one of Stiles’ personal favorites on him.  


“Hey!” Stiles tried to smile back as if he weren’t nervous at all.  


“Hi.” He leaned in to kiss Scott.  


“I have everything for dinner,” Scott said when they broke apart. “Do you want to help?” Stiles couldn’t help but laugh at that.  


“When have I ever just sat and let you do the cooking without helping?” Scott paused as he stepped aside to let Stiles in, eyebrows raised.  


“Do you really want me to answer that?” Stiles slipped past him into the house, tossing his coat and the present onto the couch before heading towards the kitchen, Scott’s footsteps following him.  


“Let me live in the fantasy where I’m nothing but helpful at all times, all right?” Scott laughed.  


“I’m pretty sure if I lie too much that I’m getting coal for Christmas.” He moved to the stove where a pot of water and a pan of oil was heating. “I’ve got the stuff for the sauce chopped already. Salad stuff is in the fridge.” Stiles nodded and opened the fridge, pulling out vegetables as Scott tossed onions and garlic in the pan to start making sauce. They joked with each other as they prepared dinner, and Stiles slowly let himself relax into the warmth of the situation. When they had full plates of pasta, salad, and garlic bread, they took them into the living room and sat on the couch by the tree. Stiles scooted his things out of the way with his foot so that he could sit closer to Scott. Scott sighed.  


“I’m glad we were able to do this,” he said. Stiles speared some lettuce with his fork.  


“Why wouldn’t we be able to?” He asked. Scott shrugged, twirling some pasta around his fork but not really paying attention to it.  


“I don’t know, you’ve seemed kind of out of it the last few weeks. I thought maybe you didn’t want to.” Stiles stopped chewing his mouthful of salad to stare at Scott in disbelief. He made himself finish chewing so he could swallow.  


“Scott, of course I wanted to do this! You know-” His brain flashed back to all of his panic about the present and how well he’d been sure he was hiding it from Scott, and he groaned. “I swear, I was freaking out but it was never about spending time with you, okay? I love you.” Scott put his fork down on his plate, turning his full attention to Stiles.  


“What were you freaking out about then?” Stiles mentally smacked himself. Of course that was the next logical question, getting right to the heart of what he had absolutely not wanted to talk about.  


“Um.” He put his own fork down, trying to think of the right words. It was a lot harder when Scott was looking at him so earnestly. “It’s just, this is our first Christmas dating, you know? I was kind of worried that I was going to get things wrong.” Scott blinked at him, clearly not understanding.  


“Stiles, it’s dinner at my house. What did you think was going to go wrong about that?” Stiles took his plate off of his lap and leaned forward to put it on the coffee table. He reached behind him, heart pounding, and picked up the present, pulling it around so that it was between him and Scott.  


“I probably overthought this a lot,” he said. “And don’t ask Lydia because she will tell you lies about how much.” Scott leaned forward to put his own plate down, an amused look developing on his face.  


“Lies, huh?”  


“One hundred percent fabrications, no basis in fact, there was no mental breakdown involved,” Stiles said firmly. Scott was smiling at him now, a soft crooked smile that made Stiles want to melt into him.  


“So, you were freaking out about presents?” Stiles could feel himself starting to blush and thrust the present out towards Scott.  


“Look, would you just open this stupid thing before I have even more regrets about this conversation?” Scott took the box without his smile faltering even a little. He carefully pulled the wrapping paper off, folding it neatly and putting it to the side. Stiles wondered if he was going to have a heart attack as Scott opened the top of the box and looked inside. There was a long moment of silence, and Stiles found himself needing to fill it.  


“If you don’t like it it’s fine, I can get you something else, I just thought, and maybe it was dumb, but I-” Scott reached out and put a hand over his mouth without looking.  


“Stiles,” he said in a quiet voice, “If you try and take this back I am going to kill you, okay?” He turned away from staring into the box to look at Stiles. “This is really for me?” Stiles nodded. Scott removed his hand, leaning in to give Stiles a long and lingering kiss, the hand that had been over his mouth coming up to tangle in his hair. Stiles felt warmth rush through him, and by the time Scott leaned back he knew he had to be a bright red. Scott was flushed too, but he was still smiling, which was probably a good sign.  


“See, now I’m the one that’s worried. My gift is nowhere near as good as this. This is like a little piece of you that I get to keep now.” He reached into the box and pulled out the blanket inside, a soft plaid blanket that had sat on the end of Stiles’ bed for years that Scott always somehow managed to wrap himself up in when he was over and it was cold. Scott unfolded it, draping it around both their shoulders and looking immensely proud of himself. Stiles was trying to think of what else to say, other than how glad he was that Scott actually liked getting his used blanket, when his stomach grumbled. They looked at each other for a second before both bursting out laughing.  


“See, just for that you have to wait for yours until after we eat,” Scott said, putting the box to the side and reaching for his plate again. Stiles attempted to look offended, but he could feel himself still smiling as he reached for his plate as well, relief coursing through him.  


“I think I’ll live.” He leaned into Scott. “Thanks. For being the best.” Scott nudged him lightly with his elbow.  


“I wouldn’t be the best without you.” He grinned as he lifted a forkful of pasta to his mouth. “Totally calling Lydia to ask about the mental breakdown though.” Stiles bit his lip.  


“Yeah, she may or may not be mad at me for us going through the entire mall before I thought of that.” He grinned sheepishly as Scott snorted.  


“Yup, totally calling her. This I need to hear.” He leaned over and kissed Stiles lightly on the cheek. As they both went back to their food, blanket draped around them and Scott’s shoulder warm against his, Stiles reflected that he truly was one of the luckiest people in the world.


End file.
